The Umbrella Revelation
by Lialane Graest
Summary: Young!Spirit wakes to find Young!Stein missing. He finds the other boy in the wooded area outside the DWMA, and learns something about him.


Spirit opened his eyes to an abnormally peaceful feeling lab. While he didn't have Soul Perception, he was attuned enough by now with Franken Stein to know when the other boy was missing, which wasn't often. Spirit fought the urge to let the rain lull him back to sleep.

'_Wait, rain?'_ The weapon sat upright, looking out the window in his room. It was indeed raining, not true rain, but a heavy mist seemed to be falling. The boy opened his window and leaned out into the water, enjoying the feel of the cold mist on his face. Pulling his wet face back in the window he ran his hands through his damp red hair and sighed.

'_I have to go and find Stein if it's raining. If he's involved in another one of his experiments he won't bother coming in and I don't want him sick.' _A memory of the one and only time he had ever seen his meister sick flashed through his memory and Spirit shuddered.

Slipping on a pair of shoes, Spirit picked up the dust covered umbrella that was sitting beside the door and stepped out into the mist. It was refreshing to stroll through Death City while it was cooler outside, and the mist did feel good against his skin. He wandered through the market district of Death City and picked up a few pieces of fruit from one of the vendors before taking an alley and circling back towards the lab.

He slipped off the path and found himself traversing up and towards the DWMA. It was also the direction of the wooded area of Death City, the one place that Stein would go to when living with Spirit became intolerable. Spirit had never understood why someone so obsessed with school and science would run away to the outdoors, but he never asked. Stein always came back, the only indication of where he had been the dirt that clung to the boy's white clothing and the muttered excuse of "I was working on an experiment."

The trees were too close together for Spirit to use the umbrella so the weapon closed it with a sigh. He carried it limply in his hands as he wandered, shouting Stein's name out on occasion. He received no responses.

After about ten minutes in the heavy mist Spirit was ready to give up and hope that the other boy had had more sense than he had and was already back home. He turned and started to leave when a flash of what could be white caught his eye. Spirit turned to look in the direction.

'_That's definitely white cloth!'_ With renewed energy the weapon headed towards the flash of white he had seen.

He found Stein sitting against the base of a tree. His white attire was dirty as usual, only the sleeve of his right arm remained white. What captured Spirit's attention though was the splatters of pink on the boy's clothing and skin. There was red underneath the other boy's fingernails.

And in front of the boy as if on display or as an offering, Spirit wasn't certain which, was a dissected snake. The organs were laid out in neat rows, the skin cleanly peeled off and to the side. A shiny metal object sat beside Stein. At Spirit's approach the other boy looked up and a sadistic grin slid across his face only to be replaced immediately with his normal apathy. Stein laid his head back against the tree and stared up into the mist, his silver hair plastered to his head.

"Stein, you're going to get sick if you don't come home now. I'm sure you don't want to have to put up with me as your nurse again." Spirit joked nervously, looking at the snake.

"You make a poor nurse, Senpai," the younger boy said calmly, though he didn't look at Spirit.

"Then let's go. I brought the umbrella so once we're out of here, you can walk under it." Spirit took a step backwards as Stein stood to his feet and looked down at the dissected snake.

One swift kick sent the carcass flying. Remaining blood splattered against the boy's shoe and lower pant leg, though he ignored it. Retrieving the scalpel the younger boy stood and walked over to meet Spirit. They left the wooded area together, walking side by side under the umbrella as the rain began to fall harder.

Spirit didn't ask about the snake. He knew Stein had some strange habits, but he wasn't going to push his luck and end up as one of them. Stein surprised him though as they reentered the lab.

"I hate snakes, Senpai, which is why I had to learn all I could about it."

Stein then walked upstairs and to the shower, his weapon shaking his head.

"Let's hope that snakes learn to avoid you then, Stein."

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**A/N: I don't own Soul Eater. Hope you enjoyed.**


End file.
